Bill x Steph One-Shots
by Hermione Romanoff
Summary: These are just some fluffy one-shots between my character from Dealing With Being a Loser and Bill Denbrough! Hope you enjoy!
1. Stalking Lovebirds

**DISCLAIMER: IT IS OWNED BY NEW LINE CINEMA AND WARNER BROS STUDIOS! I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING EXCEPT FOR MY OC!**

**A/N: Well, I promised you guys, and here you go! The one-shot series is finally beginning! I will take any requests for one-shot ideas from you guys! **

**Also, thank you everyone that read my story Dealing With Being a Loser! I really appreciate your love for the story! And, if you saw my mos recent update on that story, you must have clicked on my account to get to this. If so, then welcome to the one-shot series!**

**I hope you guys enjoy these one-shots! Especially this first one that took a while to write! Now, without further ado, here is the first one!**

* * *

**_Stalking Lovebirds_**

"I just can't believe that he asked you on a date!" the 40-year-old woman squealed as she searched through her daughter's closet in search for the perfect outfit. "It's just… you're growing up so fast!"

"Mom, stop!" her daughter playfully complained, although she was blushing furiously. "We've only been together for a month and this is the first time he's even asked me out on a date. So, why don't you please quit geeking out and help me?"

"Okay, okay!" Jamie replied with a dumb grin on her face as she turned back around.

Steph was watching her mother from the mattress that resided in the middle of the bedroom. She was honestly elated at how excited Jamie was about the news she had told her only a few days ago. But, it also made her very happy to see her mother so excited for the first time in a long time.

Only two days ago, Bill had worked up the courage to ask Steph out on a date. He wouldn't tell her what they were doing yet, so she herself was very curious as to what they were going to do, albeit a little nervous.

It was the first date they were ever going on, and she really wanted to look nice. Not breathtaking or anything, just pretty at least. And that was why she immediately turned to her mother for help, as Jamie was an expert on fashion. But she did have to admit that her mother was a little too happy with what was going on at the very moment.

"What about this?" Jamie asked suddenly, cutting Steph's thoughts short as the teenage girl jumped slightly. Her eyes scanned over what her mother was holding; a light spaghetti-strapped short dress that was a very bright pink. She glanced at her mother with a raised eyebrow and smirk on her face.

"Mom, I haven't worn that dress since I was ten. And also, it's _October_. I'm gonna freeze to death in that, so that's a definite no for me," she answered without hesitation. But then she remembered something. "_Also_ also, pink is definitely not my color, so I honestly don't care if you toss it."

Jamie put the dress over a nearby chair as she rolled her eyes a little. "Fine, I'll see if someone wants to buy it," she replied in a fake stern voice. They both shared a smile, knowing that their normal banter were always filled with as much happiness as they could take.

Steph always missed her mother being so happy before the Diabetes hit her like a brick. Of course, she read Jamie like a book and knew that her mother's eyes still contained sadness from her father, Jonathan's death before she herself was born. She didn't even like to think about it, although she did bring it up every now and then. But she knew that now was not the time for that.

"This one?" Jamie asked eagerly. "It's very pretty."

Steph looked up again to see her mother now holding a purple, short-sleeved dress that seemed to be just above the knees. She did admire how pretty it looked, but still grimaced slightly. "It looks a little too short. I mean, it's really pretty, but you know how I hate dresses or skirts to be above my knees," she explained in an apologetic voice.

Jamie herself also grimaced a little at this, now holding it out so she could look at it. "Oh, you're right. Sorry, sweetie," she replied in a sympathetic voice.

"It's fine, not a big deal," Steph said, smiling slightly as Jamie put the dress back in the closet. She then turned to look out the window to her right. It was just in the early afternoon, it was gorgeous outside, so it was the perfect weather for today. As she twisted her hands nervously in her lap, a habit she had discovered not too long ago, she couldn't help but think a few certain things.

What would Bill think when he saw her? They were meeting at the square, according to him, and she kept worrying about what his face would look like. Steph didn't want to look too pretty, just enough to be formal and casual at the same time. She also felt as if she would feel exposed just by wearing a dress in front of him.

Wait, why was she feeling so shy all of a sudden? Had Bill been making her feel that way since they had started their relationship? Maybe he was, and she just didn't realize it until now. But if it were true, she didn't care. The nervous feeling weirdly made Steph happy for a reason she would never come to realize.

"Oh, I love this one!" Jamie exclaimed, snapping Steph out of her thoughts again as she looked away from the window. Her eyes widened as a small smile crept onto her face.

Her mother was holding a deep blue dress with a simple low-cut square neckline and three-quarter sleeves. It looked plain but strangely perfect to the teenage girl as she finally stood to take it. The fabric felt smooth and soft against her skin and she loved it.

"I can't believe I forgot about this one!" she exclaimed in disbelief, a grin on her face now. Jamie smiled back in agreement. "Try it on," she said. Steph nodded, gently grabbing the dress from her mother's hands and racing to the bathroom to get changed into the dress.

It took less than thirty seconds to change from her boring, casual clothes into her dress. When she finally glanced at herself in the mirror, she gasped at her appearance.

It was like she was staring at an entirely different person. The dressed hugged her body as if it were an old friend. It felt welcoming and completely normal on her, but most importantly, it was a very pretty dress. It reached just past her knees, which she was grateful for. She smiled, a decision finally forming in her mind.

The dress was perfect.

She slowly opened the bathroom door and walked back into her bedroom to see her mother hunched over the shoes section of her closet. She quietly cleared her throat to get her attention and Jamie turned around. She put a hand to her mouth as she tried to hide her delighted expression, but failed miserably.

"Oh, sweetie, you look so pretty! Bill's gonna freak out when he sees you!" she gushed, although there was a slight teasing tone in her voice. Steph caught on immediately and blushed furiously. "Mom, stop!" she said, although she couldn't stop the smile that remained on her face.

"No, I'm serious," Jamie replied. "He's going to think the exact same thing! Don't get embarrassed now, you know it's true. He's a really sweet young man. You deserve him."

"Okay, now I'm drawing the line, Mom," Steph said, playfully glaring at her mother. "_Please_ stop, or I'm gonna call him and tell him that the date's off!"

Jamie raised her hands up in surrender, a mildly serious expression on her face now. "Okay, okay, I'll stop!" she said. This made Steph laugh a little as she shook her head. "Mom, I'm just kidding. I'm not evil, so I wouldn't do that," she said in a humored voice. Jamie also laughed slightly as she turned back to the closet.

"I figured that these would look cute with the dress," she added, pulling out a pair of black ankle boots. Jamie knew that her daughter loved them instantly due to the smile on her face and practically demanded that she put them on.

When she did, Jamie grinned at how her daughter looked. "You look amazing, sweetie! Now time for hair and makeup."

Steph playfully groaned but followed her mother into the bathroom they shared. She had suggested not too much makeup and for her hair to be simple. Jamie obliged and listened to her daughter, making sure to be careful in helping her with the beauty products they did have. All in all, it actually took less than 30 minutes for Jamie to help Steph finish getting ready. When they were done, she finally lost it and truly held herself back from squealing.

"I _told_ you!" she yelled happily. "He's gonna die and go to heaven!" Steph rolled her eyes at her mother. "Mom, I think that's a bit of overkill," she replied simply, although she herself was smiling at how she looked.

The makeup was neutral and not too much, her blonde hair wasn't as frizzy as usual, but in beautiful and delicate waves that cascaded just past her shoulders. And the dress and boots matched perfectly with the rest of her appearance.

"I look much prettier than I should," she said in a shy voice. "Thank you, Mom!" She threw her arms around her mother, hugging her tightly in appreciation. Jamie chuckled lightly as she hugged her daughter back.

"You're welcome, sweetie," she replied in a caring voice. "I'm happy I got to help. Now, go! Go on your date!" she added in a commanding voice, although the smile never dropped from her face.

"Okay, I'm going!" Steph replied in a surrendering tone. She left the bathroom and grabbed her purse from the entry hall, then opened the front door.

"Don't stay out too late! Have fun!" Jamie called after her. Steph yelled back, telling her that she wouldn't, before closing the door and set off down the street.

Nearly every second as she was walking to the square, Steph kept hugging herself with her arms, making sure the dress was on the right way and that it wasn't too short for her. It was at that moment that she realized that she was very nervous. She didn't know what Bill would think when he saw her. He had a tendency to get really shy when he told her she looked pretty, so she couldn't even imagine how he would react today.

She herself was also feeling very shy about how she looked. But also, she was a little paranoid of her surroundings. She quickly looked inside of her purse. Yup, the pocket knife was there if she needed it. After the battle with It, she felt as if she had to carry it with her everywhere now, except when she went to school. She always got jumpy and always had the feeling that someone was following her.

But Steph then realized that It wouldn't come back for a long time. Henry Bowers was also in custody and wouldn't get out anytime soon. She felt safer than she had in the last few months, but she still had the right to be a little scared.

Her thoughts distracted her so much that she was genuinely surprised to find herself on the square in next to no time. She checked her father's old watch her mother had given her for her birthday. It was three minutes before 1:00 PM. That was the time she and Bill were supposed to meet. So, she decided to wait, sitting down on a nearby bench she saw next to her.

The breeze hit her face, and Steph felt refreshed from it. The wind was cool but not too cold and not gusty like it normally would be. It was just right and cool enough for her. She tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear as she waited.

It felt like forever, although it was only a few minutes, before Steph finally looked up to see a boy dressed nicer than he had been in a long time. Someone had been getting tips from Stan, and it made her smirk. But her heart skipped a beat when their eyes met.

Bill, meanwhile, made the effort to dress nicer than usual. After Steph had accepted the offer for a date, he practically begged Stan to help him find clothes that he would normally never wear. But, for the sake of his girlfriend, he was willing to do that.

He looked around for a few seconds after he arrived at the square. His eyes glanced at a very pretty girl sitting on one of the benches, but he looked past her. Then, he realized who he had just seen, snapping his eyes back to her. He gasped quietly.

The pretty girl he had seen was actually Steph.

But she didn't look like Steph at all. Her beautiful blonde hair was no longer messy, but simply wavy and even more elegant than he had ever seen it. She was wearing a dark blue dress with sleeves that barely reached her elbows. The dress fell just past her knees, even as she sat on the bench. But eventually, he was focused on her eyes, and he noticed that she was smiling rather nervously. At that moment, Bill felt as if he didn't deserve her.

He walked towards her, his heart beating erratically in his chest as he got ever closer. He could finally see that Steph actually did have a little makeup on, but it was enough to just notice. He extended a slightly shaky hand to her.

Steph took it, squeezing it slightly as Bill pulled her off of the bench gently. She shivered, and it wasn't from the cold. She closed her eyes at his touch and she could feel her face heating up as she finally looked at him.

The first thing she noticed was that Bill's eyes were wide with wonder and elation. He was staring directly at her, and he looked even more nervous than ever. "St-Steph?" he asked to make sure. At this, the teenage girl smiled at him. "Yes, Bill. It's me," she replied easily.

Bill sighed with relief, looking down for a moment and then back at her. "G-Good… Just m-m-m-making sure," he said. He then tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear, leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead. He heard Steph gasp a little, and he couldn't hold back his small smile.

"You look gorgeous," he whispered against her skin. He then pulled away to look at her face, seeing that her cheeks were clearly pink, which made him smile even more. But then she did something that shocked him a little.

Steph smiled at his response. "Not so bad yourself, Denbrough," she replied. She then leaned forward and pecked him on the lips. Bill's heart skipped several beats at this, and when she pulled away, he looked down shyly. Then he stared into her eyes for several seconds before finally speaking again.

"Y-Y-You ready f-for our date?" he asked. Steph nodded, with yet another beautiful smile that made Bill's stomach do somersaults. He offered his hand to her again, and she took it without hesitation. They set off down the street, not really having a destination in mind.

Steph's feeling of vulnerability went away after a while, especially when she and Bill tried to flirt with one another. They were eventually reduced to a laughing mess when it got awkward for a moment. It was a lighthearted moment where they were able to be teenagers for the first time in so long.

After their fits of laughter, Steph took one glance around to make sure nobody was looking. Once she was sure they wouldn't be embarrassed, she leaned forward and kissed Bill fully. He jumped a little but, after a second, brought a hand to her cheek. They stayed that way for a few more seconds before pulling away.

"I've been wanting to do that since you got here," she whispered. Bill looked even more surprised than before, and the expression on his face made Steph laugh a little as they continued walking.

They decided to stop by the movie theater and Bill paid for their tickets, despite Steph's protests. They eventually decided to watch _Halloween 5_, as it was the most recent release. When they sat in the seats, Bill shyly slipped his hand into hers and laced their fingers together. Steph responded by giving him a fleeting smile and squeezing his hand.

Bill barely paid attention to the movie, as it was surprisingly boring for a horror film. Instead, he focused on Steph's face, and although it seemed that she didn't like the movie that much either, she looked like she was having fun while watching it. He smiled several times at her reactions to some scenes. During the laundry chute scene, Steph actually gripped Bill's arm tightly, which really shocked him. He was there to comfort her despite this.

After the movie was over, Bill realized that his girlfriend was a huge fan of films, as when they left the theater, she told him nearly everything she thought was wrong with the movie. It didn't bore him, however. In fact, it made him very happy to see Steph so passionate with just talking about something she loved. He couldn't wipe the smile off of his face, even if he wanted to.

"W-Wow, you r-r-really are a movie nerd," he said in a teasing voice after they had gotten ice cream. Steph shrugged as she smiled. "I guess you just haven't noticed until now," she replied, shooting Bill a grin that made him blush furiously. He realized almost instantly that she was making yet another attempt to flirt with him. So, he decided to get some revenge.

"H-Hey, you sp-sp-sp-spilt some ice cream there," he said, pointing to Steph's cheek. The horrified expression on her face was priceless.

"What?!" she exclaimed in a panic. "No, I didn't!" She then instantly started wiping at her face. But as soon as she did, she saw Bill laughing hysterically. She wasn't mad, as she herself began to smile, but she swatted at his arm, dropping her ice cream in the process.

"William Denbrough!" she screamed playfully. "Don't you ever do that to me again, young man!" Bill raised his arms to defend himself as he backed away from her. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" he yelled back, although he couldn't stop laughing. That was the point when Steph stopped smacking him.

"Sure you are," she replied. Bill's laughing finally began to die down as he smirked at her. "O-Okay, I'm r-r-really not," he admitted. "But you d-deserved it after you embarrassed me with th-that adorable smile of yours…"

It was Steph's turn to blush as she looked down and just barely resisted the urge to hide her face from Bill. "Wow, thanks for embarrassing me now," she replied smoothly despite this. Her boyfriend smiled as he stepped closer to her, and suddenly, Steph was thankful that nobody else was around them. And that was also the moment that she noticed that she had dropped her ice cream during her playful attack. "Aw man, I dropped my ice cream. Dang it," she whispered.

Bill shook his head as he once again tucked a strand of her blonde hair behind her ear. "It-It's okay, don't w-w-w-worry about it…" he whispered. There was a moment of agonizing silence as they stared at one another, the sun setting in the distance behind them while they only focused on each other.

"C-Can I k-k-kiss you?" Bill asked shyly, his cheeks turning pink once again. Steph raised an eyebrow at this question. "Are you really asking permission to kiss me, Big Bill?" she said in a disbelieving tone. "Of course you can," she added, a smile on her face.

There was another second of silence before Bill finally leaned in and placed his lips on hers this time. To be honest, it was the most gentle and loving kiss they had ever shared, and it was everything to the both of them as they both felt their stomachs flip. Steph melted into the kiss as she softly put her hands on Bill's face.

He responded by wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her closer to him as the kiss started to get more passionate by the second. Steph really didn't want to let go of Bill and end the kiss there, especially if she loved him too much to do so. If possible, she even deepened the kiss. This surprised Bill, as he was sure that his heart stopped beating completely for a few seconds before pulling Steph impossibly closer to him.

It seemed like an eternity before they finally pulled away, both beyond flustered. Bill stared into her beautiful eyes for a long time as he tried to calm his erratic heartbeat. "I love you," he whispered.

Steph smiled and blushed for what seemed like the millionth time that day as she slipped her arms around Bill's neck. "I love you, too," she replied without hesitation.

It was several hours before they finally arrived back at Steph's house. On the way, they were just chatting and laughing about random things, although their hands were still connected. It was barely dark outside when they walked onto Steph's front porch.

"Well, I guess this is where you leave," Steph said, a little sad that she had to tell her boyfriend goodnight. That was why she stepped forward and hugged him tightly, another blush threatening to creep in. "Thank you for today," she whispered. "I loved this date."

Bill hugged her back just as tightly. "A-Anything for you, St-Steph…" he replied easily, planting small kisses on her head. But then he remembered something. "W-W-Wait… before you g-go…"

He pulled away from her and pulled a box out of his pocket. He took her hand and placed it on there. "Open it when y-y-y-you're alone, okay?" he said. Steph nodded before leaning forward and kissing him on the cheek. "Goodnight, Bill," she said with a small smile, turning to open the front door.

But just as her hand grazed the doorknob, Steph felt her other hand being pulled gently back. She turned back around to find herself inches from Bill. She smiled as she met his lips once more, shivering as she felt his right hand caressing her cheek. But just as she ran her fingers through his hair —

"Called it!"

"Shut the heck up, Richie!"

They pulled away from each other quickly just in time to see someone ducking behind one of Steph's bushes. She laughed as she shouted, "Come on out, boys! You can't hide now!"

There was a few seconds of silence before they saw Richie and Eddie step into their view, looking embarrassed. But Richie also looked very smug with himself. "So, I see that Bill gave you a goodnight kiss. Aww!" he teased.

Steph rolled her eyes playfully. "Beep beep, Richie," she replied simply before turning back to Bill. "I think I'll leave you to deal with these morons. I'll see you tomorrow?"

Bill smiled at her. "S-Sure," he replied. "Oh, and j-just so you know…" He bent down slightly to kiss her cheek, his lips lingering on her soft skin for a moment as he whispered, "You looked very beautiful today."

He pulled away to see his girlfriend's face totally red with embarrassment as she smiled at him. She quickly turned away to open the front door, but spared one last look at him. "Goodnight, Bill. I love you," she whispered.

"I love you, too," he replied before Steph shut the door.

After talking and laughing with Jamie about how perfect the date was, Steph finally went into her bedroom and shut the door. She changed into her pajamas before realizing something.

The box!

She sat down on her bed and frantically opened said box. To her astonishment, she pulled out a beautiful pearl necklace with a piece of paper behind it. The piece of jewelry made tears fill her eyes in happiness as she put it on. She then took the piece of paper and unfolded it, reading what was written inside.

_Steph,_

_I don't think I'm going to handle spending a day without you ever again. I can't help but smile when I think about you. Falling in love with you was the greatest thing that ever happened to me, and I'm so happy that I have you in my life._

_You looked like an angel today. You always do. I love you so much, my princess._

_— Bill_

Steph just barely managed to hold back her tears as she set the note on her nightstand and laid down on her bed, turning the lamp off. As she drifted off to sleep, she couldn't stop thinking that she was the luckiest girl in the world.

* * *

**A/N: You know by now. PLEASE READ THIS!**

**Well, Richie and Eddie are now stalkers lol I felt that part was hilarious. XD**

**Thoughts on this one-shot? Was it adorable?**

**I hope it wasn't too fluffy for you guys! Let me know if it was!**

**Please leave some more ideas for one-shots! Would love to see them!**

**I bet you guys are very excited for the sequel to my It story! Like I said in that update, it will begin in early January! Bet you can't wait for it lol**

_**Time for my first incorrect quote:**_

**Richie: Listen here you reckless idiot. You have two pocket knives. Not just one, but two, so be safe and -**

**Bill: Sh-Sh-She's not gonna listen to you -**

**Steph, running at Pennywise armed with nothing but one knife: GET! KILLED!**

**I hope you guys enjoyed this one-shot! Be looking forward to the next one! Please read and review! Have a great day, and until next time!**

**— Hermione Romanoff**


	2. Falling From Sickness

**DISCLAIMER: IT IS OWNED BY NEW LINE CINEMA AND WARNER BROS STUDIOS! GREMLINS IS OWNED BY WARNER BROS STUDIOS! FRIDAY THE 13TH PART 3 IS OWNED BY PARAMOUNT PICTURES! I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING EXCEPT FOR MY OC!**

**A/N: Here is the second one-shot! Yay! Also, Halloween is almost here! It's my favorite holiday! :) **

**Now, for this one, I combined TWO suggestions into one, which I thought was clever! Warning! There is hints to sexual assault in this one! It's during a flashback, but I will still warn you when it happens! **

**_ .2019: Thanks, my friend! That's very nice of you!_**

**_MrsDenbrough (Guest): Thanks so much!_**

**_Special thanks to .2019, and MrsDenbrough (Guest) for loving this so far!_**

**Now, without further ado, here is the second one-shot!**

* * *

**_Falling From Sickness_**

Steph hadn't been feeling right ever since she woke up that morning.

The second she opened her eyes, she did feel fine… Until she sat up… Then a wave of nausea hit her out of absolutely nowhere. She shut her eyes tightly as she tried taking deep breaths. But it also felt like her breathing was a little unstable. And it was at that moment that Steph was relieved that it was the weekend.

It was late November, just weeks away from the winter season. Which meant that it was now the flu season. Steph groaned to herself as she laid back on her bed as easily as she could. She immediately wished that her mother hadn't went out of town for the week because of a family emergency. She would be coming back on Monday, and Steph had been perfectly fine with this; but now, she wished that Jamie would come home now.

Steph didn't know what to do as the nausea got even greater. She struggled to get out of bed, but she managed to after a little while. She slowly walked downstairs as she felt that her limbs were also weak. Another wave of nausea hit her as she reached the living room and she collapsed onto the couch, a hand held to her chest. She was most definitely sick, she felt it. She _knew_ it.

This happened every. _freaking_. year.

And shoot… Bill was supposed to be coming over today. Although Steph couldn't muster up the energy to call him, she didn't want him to see her like this. She didn't want him to pity her because she was sick. It was just a stomach bug that she caught every year. It would go away within hours.

All Steph could do at that moment was lay down on the couch. She started shivering as goosebumps appeared on her arms and legs. She grabbed the nearest blanket she could find and pulled it over her. She then took the TV remote off of the coffee table and turned it on.

She laid there, not really paying attention to the television for what seemed like hours. She glanced at the clock. _11:45 AM_, it read. Steph closed her eyes, wanting nothing more than to sleep the sickness off. But for some reason, she couldn't feel sleep claiming her, and it was extremely annoying.

After what seemed like forever, Steph heard the dreadful noise of the front door opening. She immediately knew who it was, as she had told Bill to not bother knocking on the door anymore. So, he just let himself in. She herself closed her eyes, afraid of the look that would most likely be on his face when he saw her. And sure enough, a concerned voice was the first thing she heard.

"A-Are you okay, St-Steph? You look a-a-a-awful…"

Slowly, although hesitantly, Steph opened her eyes to see Bill standing a few feet away from her. There was no denying the look of slight shock on his face as they looked at each other. And after a few seconds, she truthfully shook her head.

Bill, meanwhile, noticed that his girlfriend looked paler than he had ever seen her. Her eyes seemed beyond tired as she laid there limply on the living room couch, looking directly at him. The second he saw her shaking her head in response to his question, he rushed over to her and put a hand to her forehead. He grimaced a little.

"Y-You're burning up," he murmured. "W-W-W-Where's your th-thermometer?"

Steph's eyes widened slightly at the question. "It's in the bathroom, but honestly, Bill… You don't have to do this," she tried to plead weakly.

Bill wasn't having it, however, because as soon as he heard her answer, he sprinted up the stairs as fast as he could. And Steph was left lying on the couch, feeling guilty that her boyfriend was doing this for her. But at the same time, she couldn't help but feel a bit of fleeting happiness for the fact that Bill was actually concerned for her well being. It made her smile slightly, but the nausea she felt made her drop the smile pretty quickly.

Within seconds, Bill was already back downstairs with a thermometer in his hand. He ran over to the couch and sat down in front of it, holding it out to her. "H-Here," he said. Steph took the thermometer and put it in between her lips. All the while, Bill was holding her hand, caressing her soft skin with his thumb, and he noticed that she tensed slightly before relaxing. He instantly knew why she did this, as a single memory flooded his mind. It was something that had happened just over a year ago, prior to when Georgie was killed. Something that still haunted him every day of his life.

**A/N: You have been warned! Disturbing tones here!**

_"S-S-S-So, how did y'all d-do on the test?" Bill asked the others as he, Richie, and Stan exited their history classroom to the sound of the dismissal bell. Eddie was in another class, English, so they wouldn't be seeing him until they exited the building to grab their bikes. And Steph was in Science, yet another different class._

_Stan explained that his grade wasn't the best, but still pretty good. Richie, however, refused to reply with a real answer._

_"Seriously, Big Bill?!" he exclaimed from beside his best friend. "School just ended, and the weekend has arrived. I do _not_ want to talk about a freaking history test right now!" He rolled his eyes at such a thought as he shook his head._

_"Based on that answer," Stan acknowledged in a nonchalant manner, "you probably did terrible, Rich." The boy with the rather large glasses glared at the Jewish kid, seemingly offended, but that did not stop him from shrugging._

_"Well, I guess it's better than being inside Eddie's mom," he said in a calm voice. This remark earned him an elbow to the ribs from Bill._

_"I-I-I-If Eds were here, he-he would f-f-fucking kill you for s-saying that," he said in a serious voice. Richie shrugged once more, as if he had heard this exact same sentence one too many times. The three boys continued to make their way to the front doors of the school._

_When they made it outside, they grabbed a hold of their bikes just as Eddie came jogging over to them. "Hey, guys!" he greeted, although he did look slightly concerned. "Have any of you seen Steph anywhere?"_

_Bill thought about it for a moment before shaking his head, although he himself was starting to get worried. "N-No," he replied after a few seconds. "Not-Not since l-l-lunch."_

_"She probably just ditched us for another friend group. If so, I do wish her luck," Richie commented sarcastically._

_"Shut up, Richie!" Stan shouted at him. Richie held up his hands in mock surrender before turning back to Eddie. "Something wrong, Eds? You look like you've seen a ghost!"_

_"It's not freaking funny, Richie!" Eddie replied in the most panicked voice Bill had ever heard him use. "I'm asking because right before I entered English class, I saw her getting picked on by Bowers and his group of assholes! I sit at a desk right in front of the door, so I should have seen her enter the classroom across the hallway…. But…" He hesitated majorly, and Bill noticed immediately, since his face turned into an expression of horror._

_"B-B-But what, Eds?" he asked in a somewhat stern voice._

_He saw Eddie take a shaky breath as the boy shook his inhaler and brought it to his lips, taking a big puff of air from it. "But… I never saw her enter the Science classroom…" he muttered in a small voice._

_Bill's hands balled into fists, his fingernails digging into his palms. He began shaking with rage and horror, in extreme worry as to what could have happened to his best friend. Before he knew it, he was stomping back to the entrance of the school._

_"What the heck are you doing, Bill?!" Richie called after him. Bill ignored him as he started furiously climbing the stairs. Just as she reached the front doors, he saw her, and immediately sighed with relief. But that fleeting moment vanished quite quickly the second he saw how she looked._

_Steph looked miserable, tears streaming down her cheeks as her body shook with sobs while being held by a red-headed girl around their age. Bill immediately realized that the girl holding his best friend was Beverly Marsh, the girl he had a crush on an eternity ago. He acknowledged her briefly as he saw her comforting Steph._

_"It's okay. You're going to be alright," Beverly soothed the blonde haired girl. "They're gone… They can't hurt you now…"_

_Beverly's words ignited even more fear in Bill as he opened his mouth to speak. "W-W-What happened t-t-t-t-t-to her?!" he exclaimed in a scared voice. The redhead finally looked up at him in surprise, recognizing him instantly. But Bill could tell that she didn't care about that right now._

_"Bowers and his goons were tormenting her near the bathrooms just earlier… And it looks like Hockstetter decided to have a little too much fun…" she said in a very hesitant voice._

_Bill could feel his face heating up with fury, his fists trembling at his sides. "Did… D-D-D-Did they…"_

_Beverly shook her head immediately. "No, I was able to get to her before it… you know…" she replied. At this reply, Bill stepped forward and gently pulled Steph to him in a tight hug, not missing the way she tensed up majorly the second his hands had gripped her forearms. He led her down the school stairs and to the boys, who all seemed scared shitless._

_"Do we even want to know?" Richie asked in the most serious voice he had ever used._

_Bill shook his head frantically as he held Steph to him, an act of friendship at the time. Now, he wouldn't even know what it was._

_After several seconds of comforting his best friend, he noticed that Steph was finally beginning to calm down, her sobs turning into sniffs and finally relaxing in Bill's arms. But that didn't seem to last long._

_Bill looked up seconds later to see the monsters that had done this to his best friend. He instantly let go of Steph and ran over to Bowers and his gang. The boys and Steph screamed at him to not do anything stupid, but he wasn't listening as he began shoving each one of the bullies._

_"You monsters!" he screamed. "You monsters!" He shoved Henry as roughly as he could, something that surprised the bully more than ever. He tried to fight back, but Victor Criss held him back as the others began to laugh, thinking that Bill was stupid. But when the smaller boy caught sight of Patrick Hockstetter, he jumped onto the bully and started beating the shit out of him._

_"YOU SICK -!" he bellowed, not able to finish through his anger. Patrick, who actually looked a little frightened, tried to fight back, but Bill was relentless as he punched his face repeatedly. But finally, after what seemed like forever, he felt hands on his shoulders trying to pull him off of Hockstetter._

_"Get off of him, Bill!" came Steph's voice from behind him. "Don't get yourself hurt!"_

_She still sounded distressed and traumastricken, but seemed more calm than she was seconds ago, trying to control the situation. Steph's soothing voice finally caused Bill to quit hitting Patrick, since he stood up and started crying out of anger. He felt the younger girl wrap her arms around him in a tight hug, which he returned without hesitation, although she tensed up slightly for a moment._

_"You losers will get what's coming to you!" he heard Bowers' voice yell out. He didn't turn around, instead focusing at his best friend that was perfectly safe in his arms. She felt her shift slightly to look at the bullies._

_"Back off, Bowers! You come near us again and you will regret it," she growled menacingly. But Bill noticed that she sounded scared again._

_After several seconds, Bill didn't hear anything else. And his suspicions were confirmed when he heard a chorus of voices say, "They're gone, Bill!" He let go of Steph and turned around; indeed, the bullies had all taken off after the girl had yelled at them. He frantically turned to Steph with a horrified look on his face._

_"A-A-Are you all right?" he asked in a shaking voice. "Are you h-h-h-h-hurt?"_

_Steph kept shaking her head as she put her hands on Bill's shoulders. "I'm not hurt, Bill," she replied in a small voice. "I'm okay now."_

_Ever since that day, Bill grew a strange protectiveness over Steph._

And to this very day, the protectiveness over the girl he was now in love with never subsided. And it probably never would as he watched Steph take her temperature. The beeping caused him to snap out of his memory and focus on the current situation. He saw his girlfriend take the thermometer out of her mouth and look at it.

"102.3," she muttered in a quiet and weak voice. Bill took the thermometer and set it down on the coffee table as he sighed sadly. When he turned back to face her, he saw her shivering under her blanket.

"Are you c-c-cold?" he asked softly. She hesitantly nodded, and he immediately held both of his hands out for her to take. She slowly did, and he gently helped her off of the couch. He took the blanket and wrapped it around her, as well as his arms while guiding her up the stairs.

When they reached her bedroom, Bill helped her lay down on her bed and he tucked her in. "D-D-D-Do you have a h-h-heater anywhere?" he asked out of curiosity. Steph nodded and told him where it was. He ran back downstairs and grabbed it from the cupboard under the stairs. He paused for a moment, and decided that he should also get a glass of juice for her. He did so, and then went back upstairs with both things.

When he entered the room again, he gave her the glass of juice and plugged in the heater, turning it all the way on. He left the room again, going to the bathroom to find medicine she could take. He examined the small closet before he found the right thing and returning to Steph's bedroom.

"H-H-Here," he told her, sitting on the bed beside her. "Th-Th-This will he-help…" He took the small plastic cup attached to the bottle of liquid medicine. He saw Steph grimace in disgust as he did this.

"That stuff is disgusting," she complained, but took the cup anyway. Bill couldn't help but laugh a little at this remark.

"I kn-know," he replied. "But it-it'll help you feel b-b-b-better." Steph nodded as she gulped down the disgusting liquid that burned her throat as she swallowed it. As she handed the cup back to Bill, her expression turned into one of sadness.

"I'm sorry, Bill," she said. "We were supposed to have a day where we just watched movies like normal teenagers do. Instead, I just _had_ to get freaking sick! Just like everything in my life going wrong…"

Bill shook his head as he gave her a small smile as he tucked a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. "It's-It's okay, Steph. It isn't y-y-your fault. W-We can still watch movies if-if-if you want," he suggested. His heart skipped slightly when he saw the satisfied smile form on his girlfriend's face and thought that, even though the sickness made her look awful, she was still the most beautiful girl he had ever seen.

"But… I don't want _you_ to get sick like me," she told him in a small voice. This made Bill give her a serious look. "I don't care if I get sick," he replied without stuttering.

Steph blushed at the look he was giving her. He actually cared. He actually wanted to take care of her, not caring if he himself got sick. He wanted to be here with her; he didn't want to leave her. And that… that meant everything to her. So, she gave him a goofy but rather grateful smile as she tilted her head to the television in her room. "Alright," she said. "Go pick a movie."

Bill smiled at her before standing up and going to the television, only to see that she had already picked out movies for them to watch. He picked them up and looked through them. He chuckled to himself when he saw that every single VHS tape was of a specific genre. He held out one in particular for Steph.

"You-You seriously h-h-h-have _A Nightmare on Elm Street_?" he asked with a humorous look on his face. Steph looked at the cover of said film and shrugged with a smirk on her face.

"What can I say?" she said. "I love horror films."

Bill shook his head. "I th-think you like them a-a-a little _too_ much," he commented with a smile as he continued to look through the films. He saw one of them, and a dumb grin formed on his face. He held out the VHS to her.

"Now _this_… This is-is-is a _classic_!" he exclaimed happily. Steph smiled at how he said those words as she herself looked at the cover of the movie Gremlins.

"Go ahead," she said with a fake sigh. "Put it in."

"YES!" he shouted with a victory dance which she laughed at as he put the tape into the VCR.

After fastforwarding through the many previews, the movie finally started and Bill got into Steph's bed beside her, putting his arm around her. To his relief, she didn't tense up at this.

They were eventually a laughing mess at how hilarious the movie ended up being. They kept making fun of how stupid the main character was and kept talking about how cute Gizmo was. They had a discussion over how great the film was after it was over. Then, Bill put in _Friday the 13th Part 3_, which they also had a fun time watching.

After that movie was over, Bill looked over to see that Steph was sound asleep. Her skin looked a lot less paler and the color was coming back to her perfect face. He smiled as he pulled her closer to him, his arms wrapped protectively around her. He planted a kiss on her forehead.

"P-Please feel better soon, St-Steph…" he murmured against her soft and warm skin. "I love you."

* * *

**A/N: You know by now!**

**Aww! Wasn't that sweet?! He took care of her! Bill is just the best!**

**Thoughts on this one-shot? Was it great?**

**Was the flashback too disturbing? I felt like the topic of said scene was very sensitive.**

**Don't you love that Bill took care of Steph?! He's so sweet! And they at least had a fun time watching horror films! So, it wasn't entirely depressing, at least.**

**Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! I love you guys to death! Please read and review! Be looking forward to the next one-shot! Have a great day, and until next time!**

**— Hermione Romanoff**


	3. Classic Flirting

**DISCLAIMER: IT IS OWNED BY NEW LINE CINEMA AND WARNER BROS STUDIOS! I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING EXCEPT FOR MY OC!**

**A/N: Wow, ANOTHER one-shot! What a surprise lol And it's almost Halloween! Can't wait! :)**

**_SuperSentai199: I know, right?! And you're welcome for writing your idea!_**

**_ .2019: Thanks! And read this one to find out!_**

**_EmiCat08 (Guest): Trust me! Every person that leaves a review or follows the story gets a shoutout! Including you! ;) Thanks so much for your thoughts! And DON'T WORRY! One-shot after this one will be about that!_**

**_Special thanks to .2019, Just2aw3s0me, SuperSentai199, fictionfangirl1, and EmiCat08 (Guest) for loving this so far!_**

**Now, without further ado, here is the third one-shot!**

* * *

"Bill, exactly _what_ are we doing?"

"Just f-f-follow me," Bill replied simply as he pulled Steph by the hand down the street from where they had left their bikes. The teenage girl was amused at how eager her boyfriend looked at that moment, but she was also confused as to what he was doing. Nevertheless, she followed him out of curiosity.

It had been nearly a year since their battle with It, and once more, it was summer break for the remaining Losers. Steph and Bill were planning to go to the quarry just like the previous summer to go swimming.

But this time, they would be alone. Steph was slightly nervous, although nothing major would be happening. They were just going to be little kids again, but that did very little to calm her racing heartbeat.

Right now, however, she was surprised that they were now at the local bridge. She was beyond confused as Bill directed her to the railing, which was near the woods that led to the Barrens. She saw a tiny blank spot in one of the planks of wood as Bill knelt down.

"Where-Where's your kn-kn-knife?" he asked her. Steph squinted her eyes in bewilderment before pulling her pocket knife out of her side pocket.

The beautiful black pocket knife that Bill had gotten her for her birthday the year prior. She looked at it for a moment before handing it to her boyfriend. He took it from her, but not before letting his fingers linger over hers on purpose. Steph immediately knew that this was a sign of mild flirting, but it still left her embarrassed nonetheless.

He turned back to the wooden plank and began carving into it. Steph knelt down next to him. "What are you doing?" she asked. Well, she wasn't really asking that. Bill turned to her with a smile on his face.

"I-I know that it isn't our one-one-one year anniversary yet… B-B-B-But, I'm being a l-little early. Th-Th-This isn't the only gift y-you're getting, but might as-as well go ahead and do this…" he explained as he continued carving. He briefly looked at his girlfriend to see a grin on her face. And, although he blushed at this, he smirked at her.

"S-See? Th-Th-Th-That smile is one of the reasons why I-I love you," he added, which made her blush furiously. "Oh, please, Bill," she replied in a shy voice. But this made him shake his head as he finished carving his first initial.

"I'm-I'm serious," he continued. "Es-Especially that adorable blush." He brushed his fingers against her cheekbone. And despite the fact she swatted his hand away seconds later, he could easily tell she liked the flirting.

"_Please_, Big Bill!" Steph exclaimed sarcastically. "We both know that you're blushing, too!" This made him look down shyly as he grinned. But that smirk never faded from his smile. "Y-You love me," he said enthusiastically.

This made Steph smile as she rested her forehead against his. "Yeah, you're right," she replied smoothly as she took the pocket knife. She carved her first initial beside his before taking Bill's hand. After a shocked look from him, they both held the knife as they carved a plus sign between their initials.

"I l-love you too, Steph," Bill said simply, which earned him a kiss on the cheek as they both stood up and began to make their way back to the quarry.

"That makes me happy… what we did back there," Steph stated, tilting her head back towards the bridge. "If not incredibly cheesy, I love it to death. It's a very cheesy idea, though." Bill could see a smirk on her face and decided to play her little game.

"S-Says the girl that li-likes _A Nightmare on Elm Street_," he replied in a teasing voice, and he saw Steph giving him a playful glare.

"Well, that's a cinematic masterpiece!" she exclaimed dramatically. Bill shook his head as he held a finger up to make her be quiet. "No, that would be _Gremlins_," he said. Steph gasped at him jokingly as they got into a debate over which film was better.

"No, Freddy Kruger is _obviously_ the better villain!" she exclaimed. "He invades your dang dreams! Gizmo is adorable and all, but the demon looking things are not scary!"

"Y-Yeah, but Freddy is just becoming si-si-silly," Bill complained. "His-His jokes and everything aren't fu-fu-funny! The gr-gremlins are not s-s-supposed to be-be scary…"

And during their entire stroll to the quarry, that was how the debate continued. Just arguing like little kids over which film they liked was better than the other. They weren't mad at each other, they knew that. It was just a small debate that they even realized had to end soon. But for some reason, the lighthearted bickering just kept going, and even Steph was starting to get annoyed.

"Okay," she said. "Let's stop acting like five-year-olds before one of us falls off of the cliff and dies." This made Bill stop their strolling as they inched closer to the edge of the very same cliff they had jumped off of almost a year ago now. He lightly pushed her in response.

"W-Way to be blunt," he replied in a mock snarky tone. This made Steph laugh in her melodic voice that made Bill weak at the knees. Their fingers brushed against each other as they stared down into the water five to ten feet away from them.

They both knew that they had to remove their top layers at some point in order to jump in. Bill sensed Steph leave his side, and he didn't even need to ask why.

Steph, meanwhile, pulled her t-shirt and shorts off in a rather shy manner. In just a few seconds, she was left in a two-piece black bathing suit. No longer in the blue, one-piece she wore the year before. Her mother had gotten this for her with the sad knowledge that she herself was growing up. But admittedly, she did feel a little self-conscious of looking so vulnerable. She knew that Bill would be looking at her and she would have to be forced to face him.

But most importantly, the silver scar that sat on her stomach from an injury that had happened 11 months prior made her feel more self-conscious; this made her cross her arms over her chest.

Bill, who was left in swimming shorts, was staring at Steph… But not out of impulse or how other boys his age would react. He was looking at her out of pure love and admiration for how his girlfriend looked. It was actually hard for him to not stare for too long.

God, she was gorgeous. And, in his mind, Bill didn't think Steph had any need to be so vulnerable in front of him. She was already perfect before today… And now… He wouldn't have anyone else other than her. He immediately added how much like an angel she looked to the list of things he loved about her.

She was a little skinny, but Bill honestly didn't care about that. Her slightly pale skin complimented her delicate blonde hair and dark and entrancing blue eyes. But he was more attracted to her shy smile as she looked back at him. The smile that always made his heart race faster than he could ever think.

"Bill?"

"Huh?" He was snapped back to reality. "W-What?"

"Something distracting you?" Steph raised an eyebrow.

The teenage boy felt his face heat up as he looked down for a long moment. He then noticed that she was also staring at him, but he didn't care, as he was only focused on her face. She stepped closer to him, and he did the same, seeing that her face was redder than he had ever seen it.

"I guess we're both easily distracted," she whispered shyly.

"I-I guess so…" He took hold of her hand, gripping it gently. Steph smiled at him as they both leaned in. But with a full blown smirk on her face, she closed the distance with a very small peck on his lips. She then let go of his hand and jumped off of the cliff whilst screaming, "Sayonara, sucker!"

"You dang cheater!" Bill yelled after her as Steph broke through the surface of the water. She submerged quite quickly, looking up to see her boyfriend smiling down at her, although he looked slightly annoyed.

"What are you gonna do about it?" she asked in a cocky tone. This made Bill roll his eyes playfully as he jumped in after her. When he came back up, he rubbed the water out of his eyes, coughing for a brief moment while Steph grinned at him like an idiot.

"Annoyed with me yet?" she remarked.

"_Y-Y-You're_ the one who jumped in to-to escape me," he accused. "B-But no, I w-w-would _never_ be annoyed with y-you."

Steph rolled her eyes at him as drifted slowly away from him. "Sure," she said sarcastically. "I'm probably gonna annoy you all day while we're here, anyway."

"I-I don't care if-if you do."

"Well, then you better not complain about it. You know you love me," she teased.

"I never said I was-was gonna c-c-complain."

Steph obviously wasn't listening anymore as she drifted farther from him. "Hey, how about a game of Marco Polo?" she asked. Bill pretended to think about it for a second before nodding. "S-Sure, we can do that," he replied. "B-But for what you-you did earlier, you're it."

This made Steph stick her tongue out at him. "Fine," she snapped, pretending to be irritated, but Bill knew she was joking. She closed her eyes and shouted out, "Marco!"

"P-Polo!" he yelled, and he almost immediately regretted it, because it turned out that Steph was a very competitive person when it came to playing games. She slowly felt around for her hands before shouting, "Marco!" Bill smiled as he drifted far away from her. "Polo!"

Then she all of a sudden jumped at him, which made him yell like an idiot as he dived away from her. That was what happened for several minutes: Steph feeling stupid as she called out, "Marco!" over and over again, and hearing his reply. She was never able to catch him, which really annoyed her. Perhaps it was payback for what she had done to him earlier.

But, after a while, Bill suddenly stopped responding.

"Marco!" Steph shouted again. No reply. Now she was confused. She couldn't hear anything but the sound of her breathing and treading water. "Marco?" she called out more softly. Still no answer. Very close to opening her eyes, she threw her arms out dramatically. And she could have sworn she heard a stifled laugh. "Okay, Bill! This isn't funny anymore! Marco!"

She jumped when she unexpectedly felt a hand on her right cheek. Steph felt her face heat up at the contact and she shivered when she felt a pair of lips brush gently against hers. "Polo," came Bill's soft response that nearly made her knees buckle.

Steph lost the very little control she had at that moment and pressed her lips fiercely against his. He responded by immediately putting his hands on her back and pulling her closer to him as she rested both of her hands on his neck. His hands didn't travel anywhere else, and she was secretly happy with that. He treated her with so much respect and she always loved that.

Bill, meanwhile, made sure that he didn't go too far; it was surprisingly easy for him, actually. He knew his girlfriend wasn't ready to go that far yet, and he respected her in that regard. But after a while, he did feel that he had reached the limit and began to pull away. But, to his shock, Steph pulled him back to her, not allowing the kiss to end.

They kissed for what felt like an eternity, refusing to let one another go. But they ended up pulling away after several seconds, staring into each other's eyes. Then Steph shuddered in his arms when he brushed his fingers against her neck.

"C-Can… Can I…?"

Steph's eyes widened slightly, knowing immediately what he was asking. To be honest, she was more surprised that he was asking for permission. She slowly nodded her head and closed her eyes as she felt him kiss her neck gently. It was just a simple kiss, and she knew he didn't want to go too far. She was okay with that when she felt him pulling away. Then her eyes widened as she saw his smirk right before she was tugged forward and back into the water.

Steph came back up seconds later and wiped the water off of her face. "What the hell was that for?!" she screamed in mock rage. Bill shrugged at her. "J-Just for what you-you did earlier," he replied nonchalantly.

The teenage girl groaned dramatically at this answer. "Can't you let that go?!" she yelled. "You're so not funny!"

"_Y-You're_ not funny," Bill stated.

Steph smiled at this. "No, I think I am. Hey!"

He splashed water at her, making Steph rub her eyes as he laughed at her.

"Oh, you're in for it now, Billy Boy!"

* * *

It was most likely an hour later before the teenagers were finally out of the water. They were on the exact same rock they had been on a year ago, and once again, Bill was staring at Steph. She was sitting towards the edge of the rock, staring into space with a towel wrapped around her. Her hair was still dripping wet onto her shoulders; obviously it would take a while to dry.

He walked over to her and sat down beside her, slipping an arm around her shoulders.

"Y-You okay?"

"Huh?" Steph looked at him, finally acknowledging his presence.

"I w-w-w-was asking if-if you were okay. Is something wrong?"

Steph looked down for a moment in a hesitant manner. "It's complicated," she whispered.

"I'm-I'm all ears," he replied simply.

God, she looked beautiful. Even with her soaked hair, he wanted to run his hands through it. And her blue eyes were captivating as she looked back up at him.

She must have decided to not keep secrets from him, as she sighed and stared back into the water. "Bill, where do you see us in the future? Like, five to ten years from now…"

Bill blinked. He hadn't been expecting this question. But he answered nonetheless. "I-I don't know… I have th-th-thought about it a few times, though. Maybe by-by then, we might be gr-gr-grad-graduated from college, I'll be wr-writing a novel… And, I-I don't know, maybe we'd-we'd have an apartment or even a house t-t-t-together…"

"Together?" Steph asked softly.

"Y-You're in my future," he said without a bit of hesitation. "I love you, Stephanie Palmer…"

Steph blushed, but pressed onward. "What about fifteen years?"

"M-M-Ma-Married… _Definitely_ married… Maybe a-a few kids, a h-h-h-house…"

She looked at Bill in disbelief, but had a small smile on her face despite this. "And you're absolutely sure about this?" she asked to confirm it.

"Positive."

Steph's heart began to race as she felt Bill pull her closer to him. "I just never expected that answer from you," she admitted.

"W-Why not?" Bill asked in a loving voice.

"Because you could have anyone… _Anyone_… And you just had to pick me… Why?"

Bill rolled his eyes, although he was willing to answer this question again. "St-Steph, do you want me to t-t-te-tell you why again?" he asked for was seemed like the millionth time to him, although it was only the second time.

Steph pretended to think about it for a moment before shaking her head. "Nah, I've heard it before, so you don't have to say it again," she replied.

"Okay," he said, pressing his lips to her forehead. "B-Because _no one_ will be as p-p-perfect as you, Steph."

She rolled her eyes playfully as she looked at him again. "You do know that's going to annoy me, right? I don't think I'll ever get tired of it, though… But if you keep going, I'll push you back into the water."

"Y-Y-You wouldn't _dare_."

"Try me."

There was a long moment of silence between them as Steph continued to stare into the distance. But she broke it after a few seconds. "By the way, if we ever have a son, I'm naming him Georgie," she said.

Bill's eyes widened in surprise. "Steph…"

Steph shook her head at him and gave him a serious look. "I'm not joking. I would do that. Just saying," she continued. Bill stared at her in shock for a very long moment before finally nodding. "Okay," he said.

"But here's the thing," she added. "I'm… scared… of the future. I'm scared that It will return. Is it bad that I don't want that to happen? Like… I _don't_ want It to come back…"

Bill gave her a sad look as he lifted her hand and brushed his lips over her knuckles. "It-It's not a bad thing…" he whispered. "Y-Y-You're scared. _I'm_ scared, t-t-t-t-too… There's nothing wr-wrong with that. Even if I-I-I-It _does_ come b-ba-back, we'll be-be ready…"

Bill saw his girlfriend smile again and felt his stomach do a somersault. Steph, with a dumb grin on her face, couldn't help but blurt out, "I love you."

"I love you, too," he said without a second of hesitation.

"And-And it'll always be you," he promised, brushing a strand of her blonde hair out of her face. "Always. Nobody else but you… And I'll pr-pr-pro-protect you until the day that I die..."

Steph hugged Bill, not caring that they were in their swimwear. "Promise?"

"Promise," he whispered, leaning in to kiss her once more.

* * *

**A/N: You know, of course...**

**I love writing about these two lovebirds! I need to start writing the sequel lol**

**Thoughts on this one-shot? I didn't make it entirely fluffy! I feel like I'm okay at comedy as well!**

**Wait... was the comedy good? It was for me...**

**What about when Steph had her heart-to-heart with Bill? Was it adorable?**

**Which one-shot is your favorite so far? Please let me know!**

**Also, I want some incorrect quotes for these two characters and the Losers altogether! Please recommend some to me and I will put them at the end of each chapter!**

**I hope you guys enjoyed this one-shot! Please read and review! Have a great day, and until next time!**

**— Hermione Romanoff**


	4. Teasing Extravaganza

**DISCLAIMER: IT IS OWNED BY NEW LINE CINEMA AND WARNER BROS STUDIOS! I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING EXCEPT FOR MY OC!**

**A/N: Welp, haven't written anything in a while. Time to go back to one-shots! Lol But, school freakin sucks! I'm sorry about that But I'm back with another one, so yay!**

**_SuperSentai199: Thanks! Glad you liked it!_**

**_ .2019: Well, it's not really a flashback, but thanks anyway lol_**

**_Special thanks to .2019, Just2aw3s0me, SuperSentai199, fictionfangirl1, MrsDenbrough (Guest), and LostBoys453 for loving these one-shots so far!_**

**Now, without further ado, here is the fourth one-shot!**

* * *

**_Teasing Extravaganza_**

Steph smiled to herself as she got the pallets and blankets ready for the sleepover. She made sure that they were set up neatly, as well as making her bed the right way, just like she did every morning. She made sure the correct movies were picked out as well as some snacks she had.

Every one of the boys except for Mike and Stan would be staying the night at her house for a sleepover. Their sophomore year was about to begin, and this was one of their last chances to have a night filled with games, movies, and just plain fun things. Bill was bringing more snacks for the group and Richie was even bringing some of his own horror films.

Eddie had given his mother a cover story that he was spending the night at one of the boy's houses. Steph was pretty impressed when he told her about the lie, and she couldn't help but give the smaller kid a high five because of this. Ben was bringing some board games for them to play, much to Steph's delight.

The teenage girl made sure that everything was in working order. She wanted the sleepover to be great, just like the others had been. But then again, her friends wouldn't care, as long as they had fun while watching horror films and joking around.

Steph was particularly happy that Bill was coming over, although she was not looking forward to the teasing that would be directed towards the couple. This happened almost every single day when they were with their friends, _especially_ when Richie was with them. He was the most annoying of them all when it came to the teasing. Sometimes, Steph and Bill didn't really mind him, but other days, they couldn't handle it and would have to pull the 'Beep beep, Richie' card numerous times.

She was so occupied with getting everything ready that she didn't even hear the doorbell ring. Everything was now quiet except for a few footsteps coming up the stairs. _Oh, probably just Mom_, Steph thought.

Oh, how very wrong she was.

"Rawrrrrr!" came a loud yell from behind her. She shrieked very loudly as she jumped and spun around, ready to throw fists. But she was met by a certain someone who was laughing hysterically at her reaction. She started swatting at him, although he tried to defend himself.

"What the heck, Richie?!" she yelled. "Do not do that to me ever again! You _know_ how jumpy I am!"

"Exactly!" Richie yelled as she hit him several times. "You're so easy to scare!" They were both reduced to laughter at that statement, although Steph was still a little mad at him. She forgave him pretty quickly despite this.

Eddie and Ben showed up not too long later. The former had glared at Richie when he told him about scaring Steph. Honestly, the girl thought that Eddie was going to kill him, so she had to calm him down. They all eventually laughed about it, anyway.

Steph realized that Bill was the only one that hadn't shown up yet. She told the others that she would be right back before going downstairs to call said boy. She walked into the hallway where the telephone was and picked up the receiver.

"I swear, if you ditch this freaking sleepover, Bill," she whispered to herself.

But just as she pressed the first button to dial his number, she heard footsteps behind her. She jumped slightly when she heard a voice as well.

"W-What are you talking about? I-I-I just got here," Bill said in a quiet voice. Steph smiled as she put the phone back on its hook. She turned around and gave her boyfriend an apologetic look. "Sorry," she said. "Why didn't you just come upstairs?"

Bill raised his eyebrows at her. "L-L-Like I said, I just got-got here," he replied. "Is that a pr-prob-problem?"

Steph shook her head, the smile never leaving her face. "No. I was just saying… Uh, the others are here, just so you know." Bill smiled and took a step closer to her and unexpectedly hugged her tightly.

"I-I only wanted to see y-y-you…" he whispered shyly. "I mean, I'm-I'm glad to see the o-o-oth-others, but…"

"I get it," Steph responded with a small laugh as she pulled away slightly to look at him. "I was the most happy to see you, too." This made Bill grin as he rolled his eyes sarcastically.

"Of-Of _course_," he said in a teasing manner. This caused Steph to blush as she leaned in to kiss him for a second. But before she could —

"Ugh! Gross!" came a voice from behind them. They jumped and looked to see Richie shielding his face away from them. "Get a room, you two!" he exclaimed.

Steph rolled her eyes and shot the loudmouth a teasing grin. "Oh, you're just jealous, Rich! We can make out if you want…" The couple shared a laugh at the horrified look on Richie's face as he walked away. "Actually, I _don't_ want to see that! I was just coming to say that we're about to start a movie. But if you two wanna suck face the whole time, that's fine!"

"Shut up, Richard!" Steph shouted, using his full name, which made him laugh.

"Steph, be nice!" her mother, Jamie, yelled in a slight stern tone. This made both she and Bill burst out laughing, although quietly. After several seconds of hysterical laughter, Bill leaned in and kissed her fiercely. She reacted right away by running her fingers through his auburn hair. She knew the moment wasn't going to last very long, so they might as well have kissed before the others found them.

After several seconds, they pulled away slightly, trying to catch their breath. "We better go back before the others either start the movie or make fun of us," Steph said simply.

"B-B-But I don't want to…" Bill whispered, softly brushing his lips against hers. Steph smiled as she gave him another peck. "Nice try, Denbrough," she teased before grabbing his hand and pulling him upstairs so they could watch a movie. When they entered the room, Richie was giving them a pointed look.

"Took you long enough," Richie said. "We were thinking you two lovebirds were down in the foyer fu—"

"Beep beep, Richie!" Steph yelled, cutting him off, but couldn't hide her blush. She glanced at Bill and could see that his face was red as well. They walked over to the bed and sat down, while the others were piled up on their pallets. Bill shared a look with her, his eyebrows raised slightly. She knew what he was silently asking her, and shook her head slightly.

"Thought you didn't need a pallet," she whispered to him. When she saw his eyes widen a little, she laughed a little but took his hand and squeezed it. "Don't worry about it. We've slept in the same bed before," she added in a reassuring voice. He nodded as he visibly calmed down and they both turned to face the television.

"Okay, Losers!" Richie got their attention in an overly dramatic voice. "I've brought a few horror films for the sleepover! Raise your hand if you also have horror films with you!"

Steph raised her hand as she took the stack of every horror film she owned and laid it down next to Richie's VHS tapes. His face morphed into an expression of mild surprise as he looked at how many films she had.

"Looks like we're in for a long sleepover," he remarked. "Christ, Palmer! How many scary movies do you freaking own?!"

"Beep beep, Richie," Steph replied with a small smile on her face. "Can I not own any scary movies?" She raised her eyebrows at him as she prepared for a response. This made the boy with large glasses roll his eyes as he turned away from her.

"Alright, losers! Since we have a horror fan like myself in here," he continued as Steph sat back down beside Bill and held his hand again, "we probably have a dozen films that we can watch. So… we've got _Halloween, Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Terminator, The Evil Dead, The Hills Have Eyes, The Exorcist, and Psycho_! It's y'all's choice!"

Bill raised his hand as if he were back in class. "I-I have an-an-anoth-another choice if-if we can watch it…" he said as he pulled out the film he had brought with him. Steph rapidly shook her head as she started to laugh.

"Oh, heck no!" she yelled, but quietly so her mother wouldn't hear her. "We are _not_ watching _Gremlins_ again! We need to watch something else! Richie, I suggest that we watch _The Terminator_ fist," she added.

"How many votes on _Terminator_?!" Richie called out to make sure. Everyone else, even Bill, raised their hands in confirmation. Richie nodded in response.

"_Terminator_ it is then!" he declared, grabbing the film and pushing it gently into the VCR. He pressed the fast forward button to get through the previews as Steph grabbed a blanket for Bill and herself.

"I've-I've never seen this f-f-f-film before…" he admitted in a small voice. "What's it ab-ab-about?"

"Oh, it's a _classic_!" Steph exclaimed quietly. "It's a time travel movie with Arnold Schwarzenegger, I'm sure you've heard of him." At Bill's nod, she continued. "Just to let you know, some of it may not make sense, but I'll walk you through it as it happens."

Bill gave her a smile in response and she rested her head on his shoulder. He rested his head on hers as he let go of her hand to put an arm around her. She relaxed into the embrace as the film began.

Ten minutes into the movie, although it was actually very interesting so far, Bill glanced at Steph for a moment. He could see how engrossed his girlfriend look as her eyes were transfixed on the screen. He was in complete awe as he continued to stare at her, unable to look away.

Eventually, Steph was forced to look at him. She wasn't stupid; she _knew_ what he was doing. "Bill," she whispered. "Stop."

"S-St-Stop what?" he asked softly, pulling her slightly closer. "What am-am I d-d-doing?"

"You're staring," she said in a playfully harsh voice.

"I-I am?"

She frowned as she blushed. "Watch the movie." But little did she know, Bill saw her smile and figured that she secretly liked him distracting her. This made him smile at her, but he did as he was told.

As he watched the movie, he started absentmindedly playing with Steph's blonde locks. He could hear a few stifled quiet laughs in response every now and then. Her hair was so soft; he could run his hands through it all day.

It was all a little too much for him, but he was able to control himself.

After a while, Bill had to look at his girlfriend. He got away with it for a lot longer than the last time, before she turned to him again.

"Stop," she whispered a little more seriously.

"St-Stop what?" he asked innocently.

This time, Steph raised one of her hands and used it to run her fingers through his auburn hair. He nearly yelped in surprise at the sudden move, but he was able to keep quiet as he stared at his girlfriend's blushing face. "Stop. Distracting. Me."

Bill, despite blushing just as much as she was, ran his own fingers through her hair, loving the way she closed her eyes at this. "I can't," he whispered.

Steph blinked, clearly surprised by this response. "What?"

He gently and quietly kissed her on the cheek. "I said that I can't," he whispered calmly and without stuttering.

"You can't what?" Eddie asked, picking up on Bill's words. Luckily, the two were able to jump apart before he looked at them.

Bill looked at the germaphobe. "Umm, I s-s-said that I can't un-understand the time t-tr-tr-travel."

Eddie chuckled slightly. "It's okay, I can't understand it either," he assured him.

"Oh, come on!" Steph exclaimed a little louder. "I can perfectly understand it. It's sort of a paradox and…" She thought about it for a minute before shrugging in defeat. "Okay, maybe it doesn't make sense," she admitted.

All five of them laughed as they turned back to the movie. Bill smiled at the amused look on Steph's face, but was more surprised at the fact that she was looking at _him_ now.

"You are the worst," she whispered to him.

Bill didn't reply with words, instead planting a kiss in her hair as they both turned back to the TV screen. After a little while, Bill actually got more interested in the movie during the scene where the T-800 nearly killed Sarah Conner at the nightclub. He felt Steph grab his other hand as a reaction and he held her, knowing that she was a little frightened. He looked at her one more time, looking at the look of slight horror on her face. Refusing to fight the urge, he leaned over and whispered to her.

"Y-You look adorable when y-y-you-you're scared," he said softly.

Steph nearly jumped a mile into the air at the feel of his breath on her neck. It was way too pleasant for her own liking. A sound escaped her lips that she regretted instantly. Luckily for her, it was at that moment that the T-800 had punched through the car windshield.

"Uh-oh, Steph's scared!" Richie said in a teasing voice. "Bill, you better comfort her!" He looked at said boy and winked suggestively.

"You juh-jerk!" he said loudly, causing Steph to smack his arm and tell him to watch his language.

"You know you love me," Richie replied in a sly voice.

"Sh-Shut up," said Bill more quietly.

_If only he knew the real reason_, Steph thought. She glared at Bill, but couldn't hide her smile. She mouthed the words, "We'll talk later." She turned away and he put his arm around her again. This time, he made no effort to distract her, instead letting her be in peace.

To be honest, he even jumped a little towards the last scene of the movie. Steph noticed and squeezed his right hand, lacing their fingers together.

When the movie was over, Richie and Eddie kept going on and on about how great it was. All the while, Ben was having a conversation with Steph and Bill about how he thought time travel worked. The theory honestly impressed the teenage girl, but she knew it wasn't really true.

"Well, you know, Ben…" she began, but he cut her off.

"I know," he said. "Nobody knows how time travel really works in movies. Not even Bill over here, and he wants to write books. Right, Bill?"

The boy in question shrugged but Steph didn't miss the look of slight embarrassment on his face. He hid it pretty well, which did surprise her. He was able to explain what he wanted to do as a career without stuttering so much, and she was proud of him.

After several hours of watching horror movies and playing board games, where Steph won at Monopoly, they teenagers finally fell asleep. Well, everyone except for Steph. She actually had trouble letting sleep claim her, something that very rarely happened. And she hated it.

Finally, she couldn't handle it anymore and got out of bed, reluctantly letting go of Bill's hand and walking over towards the door. But just as she opened it slightly —

"St-Steph?"

She turned to faintly see Bill sitting up in her bed. She just stared at him, not saying anything.

"It's one in-in the mo-morn-morning," he said softly. "What's wr-wrong?"

Steph shook her head, giving him a small smile. "Nothing, Bill. It's okay, I just can't sleep. I'm just gonna get some water." She turned and opened the door wider, but not before hearing movement from behind her.

"I'll-I'll come with y-y-you…"

"No, no, you don't have to," she said in a serious voice. "Why don't you go back to sleep?"

Her stammering was cut short by a hand slipping into hers. "I'm going with you," Bill said firmly, no stuttering. She stared at him for a moment before finally relenting, tilting her head towards the stairs. "All right, come on," she whispered.

Hand in hand, they walked down the stairs and into the kitchen. Before Steph could reach the cabinet, Bill beat her to it and grabbed a glass for her. He turned the sink on and filled the glass with water and handed it to her. She took it, giving him a small smile that made his stomach do somersaults and took a sip.

"So, Bill…" she started quietly. "What was that all about back there?" She gestured upstairs as she asked this. The boy shrugged, giving her an innocent look. "W-What did you th-th-think it was?" he asked in a kind voice.

Steph rolled her eyes. "You were flirting with me, Bill," she stated. "Like, even more than usual…"

Bill had a thoughtful expression on his face for a moment before looking at her again. "Can-Can I not flirt w-w-with my girlfriend?" he said. Steph blushed, but didn't answer. "Wh-What _did_ worry me w-was when I said th-th-tha-that you looked adorable… Umm… y-y-you _shrieked_, Steph…"

Steph offered him a reassuring smile. "I'm sorry about that," she said. "You just surprised me is all."

"B-But you're okay?"

"I'm fine," she said, but then looked down. "I guess…"

Bill's face fell as he stepped forward and linked his arm with hers, taking her hand. "W-What do you mean, you guess?" he asked gently. "What's wr-wr-wro-wrong?"

Steph took a deep breath as she looked away from him. "I don't know… I guess watching those horror movies kind of reminded me of what happened… you know… with It… It's stupid…"

Bill shook his head at this as he squeezed her hand. "It's not st-st-stupid, Steph," he said. "I won't lie, I a-a-al-also thought about th-tha-that… There's no-nothing wrong with being afraid… But if-if you're scared, you c-c-c-can tell me _anything_, okay?"

Steph finally looked into his eyes, midnight blue meeting sky blue. And the teenage girl found herself falling in love all over again. She felt as if she could get lost in those eyes forever, almost like she was staring into her own imaginary galaxy. She gave him a small smile, which he returned. She then gently wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly, resting her head against his chest.

"Thank you," she whispered.

Bill rested his head on hers, kissing her hair. "As-As long as you're okay, love…" he replied. This made Steph pull away and give him an amused look.

"Did you just call me 'love?'" she asked, trying her hardest not to laugh. Bill chuckled a little.

"Yeah, so?" he asked with a smirk. Steph blushed furiously as she said, "I don't mind you calling me that."

His heart skipped a beat because of how shy she sounded. She was so adorable that he felt as if he didn't deserve her. But that didn't stop his smile growing wider as he kissed her cheek. "O-Okay, love…" he said teasingly.

The two teenagers laughed as they hugged again. They stayed that way for a long time before they finally went back upstairs. And when they fell asleep, Bill was holding Steph close to him in a protective manner.

* * *

**A/N: You know by now!**

**Gah! I miss writing about these two lovebirds! Don't y'all?**

**Thoughts on this one-shot? Was it awesome?**

**I finally wrote one where Steph and Bill get teased a lot! Lol XD**

**Ideas for future one-shots? I'm already planning the next one like a sneaky bastard lol Warning! It will be a sad one!**

**I hope you guys enjoyed this one-shot! Love you guys to death! Please read and review! Have a great day, and until next time!**

**— Hermione Romanoff**


	5. Gotta Try to Move On

**DISCLAIMER: IT IS OWNED BY NEW LINE CINEMA AND WARNER BROS. STUDIOS!**

**Trigger Warning: There is a scene where a character attempts suicide, so beware if the topic makes you upset.**

**Well... I did not get this one-shot out within the following week after the last one... oops. I'm so sorry, guys! I was just so busy, and I'm STILL so busy. I hope you guys understand.**

**Also, PLEASE DO NOT BEG ME TO CONTINUE MY STORIES! I am very busy and I'm not able to continue them as much as I want to, so be patient and don't leave review begging me to continue!**

_**SuperSentai199: Thank you!**_

_** .2019: Yeah, I know haha Glad you enjoyed it!**_

_**MusicLover14: All I have to say is THANK YOU SO MUCH! Yup, that's it!**_

_**Special thanks to SuperSentai199, .2019, and MusicLover14 for leaving a review on the last chapter!**_

**Now, without further ado, here is the fifth and very depressing one-shot!**

* * *

**_Gotta Try to Move On_**

_Monday, April 29th, 1991_

"Do you _always_ have to say the most disgusting things, Richie?!" Steph exclaimed as the two walked down the school hallway, laughing their heads off. Bill, Eddie, and Stan walked alongside the two as they all smiled, just enjoying the fact that school was over for them that Monday. Bill was holding his girlfriend's hand as they strolled towards the entrance of the building.

It had been nearly two years since the eight members of the Losers' Club had defeated It. And, although two of them had moved away and one was being homeschooled, the original five were approaching the end of their sophomore year at Derry High School. They're favorite part about this stage was the fact that high school was a hundred times better than middle school was. The classes were better, the food was better, and everything was so much easier. Overall, high school was Heaven compared to their previous school years.

And the best part was the most relieving part: none of them were being bullied anymore.

This was except for the occasional harassment from Greta Keene, but Steph never really cared about that anymore. She always ignored her when she did this, and it was all for the better. But other than that, life was going surprisingly great for the five kids, and she wouldn't have it any other way than that. She had awesome friends, a perfect boyfriend that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with, and nearly every bully was gone from her life.

But everything was bound to be ruined that day... and for the very worst. And it was about to come out of nowhere.

"Steph, my love!" Richie declared in an over-the-top, dramatic voice. "You've known me for nearly five years, you ought to know how I freaking behave by now!" Steph couldn't help but try to stifle another laugh as Bill pulled her closer to him.

"B-Beep Beep, Richie," Bill said in a slightly irritated voice as he squeezed Steph's hand, causing her to smile at him. "And also, I b-b-believe Steph is _my_ love, so back off!" He then shoved Richie playfully, causing everyone to laugh.

Bill's stutter had started improving tremendously, despite the fact that Steph was going to miss it when it was completely gone. All of his speech therapies were paying off, and Steph was very proud of him, as well as the others. The speech impediment would only truly come into play when he was either emotional or nervous, even though it happened every once in a while on normal circumstances. It wasn't as annoying for the boy anymore; he had grown quite used to it now.

Richie shot Bill a sly smile as he looked at his hand that was linked with Steph's, a new idea for teasing coming up in his mind. "Oh, I'm sorry, Big Bill," he taunted jokingly, trying not to chuckle. "Steph is your princess, so you should defend her like the knight in shining armor that you are!" He gave the couple a mock bow as Steph smacked the back of his head; but she couldn't hide the pink hue in her cheeks. But, luckily for her, nobody noticed this.

"Shut up, Richie!" Eddie yelled, although he himself was smiling. All of the teenagers laughed again as they opened the entrance doors and stepped out into the beautiful Monday afternoon. That beauty wouldn't be lasting long, however, since it was forecasted to rain in the next hour, so they needed to get home quickly. Neither of them seemed to care for the time being, since they all started joking around. Meanwhile, Bill put an arm around Steph and looked at her.

"Rich was right," he whispered to her. When she raised her eyebrows in confusion, he gave her a loving smile. "You _are_ my princess..."

Steph giggled bashfully but she, surprisingly, didn't blush at all. She instead kept her eyes locked with Bill's. "And you're my knight in shining armor," she replied shyly. Bill grinned and leaned down to peck her on the lips, which made her heart skip a beat. He pulled away, but she gave him a kiss in return, making his face turn red. She gave her amazing boyfriend a smile as they walked towards their bikes, hand in hand.

"I swear," Richie yelled enthusiastically in a teasing manner. "You two are gonna end up married after you graduate! The two little lovebirds!" He then made dramatic kissing noises, which made Steph and Bill laugh hysterically, but he kept going. "Bill and Steph sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S -"

"Beep Beep, asshole!" Steph warned. "Again, just like I told you last year, I can make out with him if you want us to!" She then grabbed Bill's face and pulled him into yet another kiss, and he brought a hand to her cheek, playing along with her game.

"Okay, okay! Gross, guys! Enough PDA... y'all can screw later," groaned Richie as he looked at the two. Steph pulled away from her boyfriend and gave the boy with the coke bottle glass a horrified look as her eyes widened.

"Sh-Shut up, Rich!" Bill said as he looked down, hugging Steph to him. The blonde was also blushing as she hid her face in Bill's chest, away from the others.

All of a sudden, deafening sirens broke through the cheerful moment. Steph's head snapped up at the noise and she covered her ears, squeezing her eyes shut for a second. The others had done the same thing as her when they saw an ambulance and two police cars sped past the school. This made Steph beyond puzzled as she looked in that direction.

"What the heck is going on?!" Stan yelled as they saw the vehicles bolting down the street. Steph didn't say anything as her eyes followed the ambulance. Her heart dropped to the pit of her stomach as she saw it turn to the street on her right. Her eyes widened in worry and dread.

That was the corner she always turned on to head home.

Before any of the boys could ask what was wrong, Steph jumped onto her bicycle and began pedaling faster than she ever had before. One foot after the other, she rode the bike a little fast but it was with reckless abandon. She was able to quickly catch up to the police cars that were behind the ambulance in next to no time, literally standing up on the pedals to go faster. And, sure enough, the vehicles actually did turn onto Steph's street.

The girl's heartbeat began thumping like she had just ran a marathon, ricocheting off of her ribcage more swiftly than it had ever done in her entire life. Her breathing came in and out in short, haggard gasps as she started losing air; it was almost as if she were choking on the oxygen that she was breathing in. She couldn't seem to calm the adrenaline pumping in her veins as she kept on pedaling.

Several times, Steph was almost struck by cars as she chased - literally _chased_ \- after the two police cars. When she saw the ambulance turn into her driveway, she nearly fell off of her bike in pure shock. She quickly sped into her yard and jumped off the bike before she could even stop, letting it crash to the ground. The teenage girl then sprinted to her front door just as two police officers got out of their cars; they tried to stop her in the process, but she wasn't listening.

"Miss, you can't be here right now," the female officer said in an urgent tone.

Steph snapped her head to her in disbelief. "I _live_ here!" she yelled as she threw open the door and stepped inside so quickly she almost fell to the floor. She immediately saw her neighbor standing in the entry hall, clearly crying, and Steph was automatically concerned.

"Oh, Steph!" her neighbor exclaimed, rushing over to hug her. "I'm so sorry!"

The teenage girl was stunned for a moment, but she hesitantly hugged her back after a few seconds, clearly bewildered. "What happened, Ms. Grogan?" she asked in a small voice. Her neighbor, who was in her late fifties, pulled away and tried blinking her tears away. Steph patiently awaited an answer from the older woman, and she eventually got that.

"Sweetie..." she began. "I don't know how I'm going to be able to tell you this... I hate to be the one that has to say this, but... Your mother's gone... I think the tuberculosis finally got to her..."

Steph froze as time stopped completely, her breath suddenly caught in her throat. She knew that her mother's health had been declining very quickly recently. Jamie had been diagnosed with tuberculosis about a week after Steph and Bill's one year anniversary, and the teenage girl spent less time with her boyfriend to take care of her mother. Bill had understood this, always coming over to her house to help her when she really needed it. Steph really appreciated this, and she loved him all the more for it.

She could still remember the day Jamie had to go to the hospital; it had been the scariest day of her life by far, and she would never forget that moment for years to come. Heck, she was sure it would stay in her mind for the rest of her life.

And now... Steph didn't truly know how she felt at that moment... Those words kept repeating themselves in her mind like a skipping record, echoing off of the walls of her subconscious. Her eyes were wider than they had been before as she stared at the woman in front of her.

"_What?_" she breathed out, an appalled expression on her face.

Ms. Grogan had a look of agony on her face as she sadly shook her head. "I'm so sorry, sweetie," she said. "I came over to bring her some food I thought y'all would like, and... she was on the couch... I thought she was asleep... but I couldn't find a pulse... She's gone, honey... and I'm so sorry..."

Steph lost all ability to breathe right then and there, the oxygen leaving her lungs just like that. She subconsciously couldn't feel her heart beating in her chest, and she felt as if it were better that way. Her hands started shaking as she felt tears brim the corners of her vivid, midnight blue eyes... and all she could feel was a sense of emptiness as she stared down at the floor.

Her mother was gone... Just _gone_. And Steph didn't get to tell her goodbye... She didn't get to spend a second longer with Jamie before it happened... She wasn't by her side like she should've been... She didn't let the words, "I love you," be her last to her...

The nothingness that Steph felt made her collapse to her knees, her muscles and emotions giving out. Then the tears flowed, bursting out like a dam. She just let it out and began sobbing quietly. In her mind, this wasn't supposed to happen, she didn't _want_ it to happen. She hated - No, she _loathed_ the fact that this had to happen and hit her like a brick when her life was at its happiest.

She had a small victory by defeating It, but this was a massive defeat.

She suddenly heard footsteps beside her as someone ran into the house, but she didn't turn her head. Instead, she leaned back against the wall, hugging her knees to her chest and burying her face in her hands. Her body shook uncontrollably as she felt a pair of arms wrap around her form and pull her closer. Steph had a sense that she knew who this was. So she just barely welcomed the embrace, but she didn't return it at all. The shock and the sorrow of the situation at hand wouldn't allow her to do anything emotionally or physically. It was like she was stuck in her own little prison, unable to break free.

"St-Steph..." came a murmur as the girl trembled violently.

She didn't lift her head from its position, she didn't even regard the fact that someone had spoken to her. She couldn't move, let alone speak. She pretended that Bill wasn't holding her tightly to him; but he was, and he was planting kisses into her hair, tears streaming down his own face.

"I'm so suh-sorry, love," he whispered, his voice cracking majorly. That was when Steph finally lifted her head, although she didn't look at him, not even acknowledging his presence. Hell, she didn't even notice the rest of the boys standing mere feet away from the couple, all of them with horrified expressions on their faces.

She herself was solely focused on a stretcher that carried a mass on it... a mass that was covered with a plain white sheet. And that was when Steph finally lost control; she broke, her heart shattering into billions of pieces as a part of her soul shriveled up and died. And she did something that she had never done before in her life.

She wailed. She wailed at the top of her lungs as she jumped off of the hardwood floor and flung herself towards the stretcher. She threw the white sheet away from her mother's corpse, seeing her closed eyes and blank, pale face. Ignoring the fact that Jamie indeed looked peaceful, Steph sobbed hysterically as she began screaming.

"No! NO! _**MOM! **PLEASE DON'T LEAVE ME! **PLEASE!**_" she screamed louder than she ever had before.

Bill and the others pulled her away from the stretcher as a paramedic gently pulled the sheet back over Jamie's body, rolling her out of the house.

Bill's heart broke and vanished into nothingness at the sounds of his girlfriend's screams. He held her to him as her muffled cries kept continuing, wanting nothing more than to give her the entire world at that moment. Her sobs would haunt him for the rest of his life, even after they moved out of Derry.

"It's okay, it's okay!" he assured her, although he himself didn't believe it. He stroked her hair and softly shushed her as the others watched them, all of them looking solemn and upset.

Richie looked more serious than he had ever been in his life, and it was a change in behavior for him. He felt so bad for his best friend that he couldn't help but walk over to the couple and embrace them. Stan and Eddie quickly followed suit and they all formed a group hug. They had Steph enveloped in their arms as she continued crying and crying.

As Steph felt the salty tears coursing down her cheeks, a million thoughts were rushing through her mind all at once. There were so many that she could barely focus on any of them at once over her crying. She tried to pay attention to the situation over her sorrow and distress, trying to pick out the important thoughts as quickly as she could.

And it was at that moment that she realized the most relevant thought and she envisioned it in her mind. Steph was seeing her whole life as if she had already lived it… It was an endless amount of suffering, tears, and depression. Up until now, she had never experienced grief this badly before, and it was surging through her every breath, reaching the highest peaks. As tears kept spilling from her helpless eyes, the sure knowledge that life would go on without her mother, the fact that time had only stopped for her, undid her completely.

She saw herself in the future crying every single day, mourning over Jamie every second… always the same tears, the same mumbles of grief. And, in the present, she felt like she was standing at a great precipice, ready to let go. And she felt that if she did, nobody would be there for her… there would be no one to pull her back, nobody who cared… or even _noticed_.

She felt that the world and her friends were better off without her; she could feel the depression slowly seep into her soul, emotionally killing her like it were an unseen, unheard, silent killer. Her mind went dark as it plummeted into darkness. Steph realized that there was one possible way to end it all, and she needed to get it over and done with now.

So, using the only physical strength she had left, she broke out of the embrace and shoved the boys out of the way. Her feet hammering against the ground, she dashed out of the house before her friends had a second to react. She painfully ignored Bill's cries for her to come back, and they only made her cry more as she sprinted down Kansas Street, her blonde hair fluttering behind her by the breeze her racing figure caused.

The tears that flowed from her eyes blinded her as she turned the corner of the street, running as quickly as her skinny legs could carry her. She was bolting down the next street like an Olympic champion at the start gun; she had never run so fast in her life, and she was surprised about how quickly she made the distance between her and her house. The pounding noise of her tennis shoes resonated and echoed in her ears and it matched her throbbing heartbeat in her chest. The thick feeling of grief and sorrow motivated her to run faster, and she did.

As she kept putting distance between herself and her friends, she could see dark gray clouds beginning to cover the sun. The thunderstorm was fast approaching, but she could care less about the rain right now, even if she despised it. All she wanted was to get this ordeal over with quickly, but she didn't even know where she was going.

She passed by a few people, not bothering to glance at them to see if they were concerned or annoyed; she even bumped into people, and they shouted things like, "Watch where you're going!" "Stupid girl!" or, "Show some manners!" She ignored them all, even if her shoulders hurt from colliding into so many people. She didn't even feel the pain as she darted onto the main road that led into Derry, secretly relieved that there were no cars or people around to witness her despair.

Steph finally ran into a streetlamp, her chest softly smacking into the metal as she clung to it for dear life. Her entire face was now covered with tears as she sank to the ground, her arms wrapped around the pole and her left cheek pressed against it. Her body quivered as her legs went weak. Her breathing was ragged, and she was gasping for air as the strength left her body; she started to sob again, faint cries pouring from her mouth as she stared at the pavement below her.

Her heart felt completely empty now; it was gone. The awful hollowness… the waves of wretchedness nearly engulfed her mind, body, and soul entirely as she just sat there. She felt helpless, knowing that nobody was going to support her through this. And that was what urged her to look up.

She was on the main Derry bridge, not the Kissing Bridge. Steph didn't even know that this was the same bridge that Adrian Mellon would get thrown off of 25 years later, but she was focusing on the rails that guarded it. And she slowly stood up, her legs carrying her to the edge, although it felt like she was walking through molasses. She could barely see the rushing river below that went to God knows where as she approached the rails. The water felt strangely welcoming to her, as if it were awaiting her.

Steph quickly looked behind her to make sure nobody was watching and, sure enough, no one was. She sighed with relief as she felt a huge gust of wind blow through her air and send a mild chill through her body. It was getting colder by the second, but she didn't care as she inched closer to the edge. And, eventually, her body was nearly pressed against the rail as she stood there, staring down into the rushing waters of the river below her.

What she _couldn't_ hear over the wind was thundering footsteps behind her as she, very slowly, lifted up her arms, her hands caressing the metal of the guard rail. Her fingers enclosed around it and she gripped it tightly, her heart beginning to race in her chest as the adrenaline died down. She didn't stop was she was doing, however, raising her right foot up and stepping onto the rail below the one she was holding; her left foot did the same. She had to be careful, not wanting to fall and break her neck. She would rather have this be painless than her being in agony.

She carefully swung her legs over the rail, clutching onto it as if it were her lifeline as her feet hit the small ledge on the other side. She then turned around, looking at the trees for a moment before staring down at the water that waited for her to jump. And that was what she wanted to do; just jump and get it over with, end it all, and finish it.

_And then I'll see Mom again,_ Steph thought as more tears streamed down her face. She could have sworn she felt a ghost of a smile form on her lips as she started to lean forward, closing her eyes. But, for some reason, she stopped, and opened them again.

She was starting to sense other feelings in her gut: the first one was hesitation, almost as if she didn't actually want to do this, her mind stuttering for a second in her moments of distress. The second was the implication that someone was watching her and that they were about to intervene. And she was quite right about the last one.

"Steph, don't do it!"

The blonde girl whipped her head around to face the source of the voice, her hair billowing in the wind as she stared at him. Her defeated gaze pierced into the boy's soul as he stood there, a panicked and heartbroken expression on his face. But, despite the fact that she felt bad for putting him in this condition, she wasn't able to show it in her heart.

"Go away, Bill!" she shouted. "You don't need to see this… I'll let go, no matter what you do!"

Bill didn't listen, approaching her regardless, although very cautiously. "You're ruh-right," he replied rather easily. "I _don't_ need to see th-th-this… And you're _not_ luh-letting go. I won't let you." His tone was blunt and final as he said this, but Steph failed to notice the deep emotion in his voice as his eyes shimmered with tears again. The young girl chose to look away, not bearing to face her boyfriend.

"And what are you gonna do about it?" she snapped back, her voice cracking with each word. "I'm already on the other side... it's too late, Bill. You can't do anything…"

Steph didn't have her eyes locked on the water this time, instead having them staring into the wilderness of the Barrens. For a second, her gaze froze on the exact spot that Adrian Mellon would get killed by It over two decades later; she couldn't help but feel a bit of uneasiness as she glanced at the area. She then looked back to the water, the sky darkening more and more by the second, matching the emotions she was feeling at the moment. She shut her eyes again as she could barely hear footsteps beside her.

"I know you're on th-the other side…"

The girl turned her head to look at Bill, who was less than two feet to her left now, staring at her with determination. The adrenaline didn't come back, but her heart fluttered a little when she saw the desperate look in his eyes; it was at that moment when she felt the sensation of reluctance building up inside her. It made her drop her gaze for a split second.

"But I _can_ do something about it," Bill continued, still staring at her, his heart breaking at the amount of tears on his girlfriend's face. "I can puh-pull you back over, but I know that it won't be easy to-to convince you… I can try though…"

Steph looked at Bill again, her expression now one of shock; she was surprised at how much he was hell bent on getting her back, and they both knew it wouldn't be easy. She even flinched away slightly when Bill took a step forward, but she was relieved that he didn't grab her hand or something. She avoided his eyes, but also paid close attention to what he said next.

"Listen to me, Steph," he began. "I know losing your mom must be huh-horrible for you… Trust me, I know th-th-the feeling of losing a loved one…"

The girl nodded. "I know," she said quietly. "Georgie…"

"But I learned something… something I'm a-about to tell you right now," Bill continued, his tone softer and more soothing. "You don't have to b-bluh-blame yourself for this… it wasn't your fault. Your mom died because of something natural, it happens every day… She's at peace now… She wouldn't want you to feel like this, she would wuh-want you to be _happy_. _All_ of us want you to be happy, Steph. If you let me pull you back, I'm going to h-h-h-help you through this…"

It was at that moment that Steph really started to regret making this decision, slowly choosing to change her mind; she was such an _idiot_. Why did she think suicide would help her here? She knew that it would only make things worse, especially considering that there _were_ people that could help her, support her, comfort her when she needed it. Killing herself would make her friends go through the same thing she currently was. She didn't want to make them suffer through that depression… and that was the only thing that stayed in her mind for several moments.

"It's going to be okay, and I'll make sure of that," finished Bill, not stuttering whatsoever. "Now, come on… give me your hand… for me. Please, Steph… You don't want to do this. I'm begging you, let us help you. Let _me_ help you…"

Hearing how close Bill was to tears finally made Steph relent, and she sighed. She couldn't do this to her friends, she couldn't do this to herself. And, most importantly, she couldn't do this to the boy she loved so dearly. She realized that if she jumped right now, he would probably live on in grief, and she didn't want to make him go through that pain. But she was also too scared to let go of the railing, she didn't want to jump anymore; she knew that doing this was a dumb decision she had made during her moments of sorrow. And she couldn't help herself at the time.

But she had a way out of this now; she had a key to going back to where she just was. And that key was standing right next to her, holding out a hand for her to grab. Bill Denbrough was ready to pull her back over the railing, and back to him. He _cared_, he _did_ notice, and he _loved_ her with every fiber of his being. He was here to save her from her sorrow, to rescue her in a way.

So, although she hesitated due to her sudden major fear of heights, Steph slowly released her right hand from the rail. She was scared that she would fall right there, but she surprisingly didn't plummet towards the water, much to her great relief. Her heart thundering in her ears, she inched her hand towards Bill's right until she found it; when she did, she gripped onto it for dear life, that fear still in her heart that she would make the wrong and fatal move. He gently and carefully moved his left hand to hold her right one instead, just to make it easier.

Steph made sure to be cautious when she moved her feet to where she could face Bill. And when she did, she refused to look at him, ashamed of what he must have been thinking at that moment. She felt so stupid and distraught, afraid that he would hate her for doing what she had just tried to do.

"Thank God," whispered Bill, but Steph still refused to look up, knowing she would have to directly face him soon enough. And that time was now.

"Steph… look at me, please…"

And she did. The second she locked her dark blue eyes with his blue-green ones, more tears spilled down her face and she shut her eyes. Several more sobs made her body tremble as she choked out the words, "I'm so sorry…" She sniffed, now feeling humiliated because of her crying. Bill didn't care about this, now more desperate to pull her back so he could hold her forever.

"It's n-nuh-not your fault," Bill whispered. "Hold on to me and I'll pull you over."

Steph obeyed, wrapping her arms around his neck and burying her face in the crook of it as he put his own arms around her back. He started to gently pull her over the guard rail, and she felt a sensation of slight relief that he was doing this, and this made her cling to him even more tightly as her feet hit solid ground again. She pulled away to look at him again, and his hands were already on her cheeks, wiping the tears away as fast as possible. He then brushed a strand of hair out of her face as he stared into her eyes.

"Don't worry, I'm here…" Bill murmured, and Steph put a hand on his cheek in response.

"It isn't your fault," she replied.

"And it is-isn't yours either."

Steph shook her head. "I shouldn't be crying like a baby right now," she added, her voice quieter.

Bill ran his hands through her hair as he gave her a sympathetic look. "No… you have _every_ right to cry, love," he said. "Don't fuh-feel stupid for crying, you just went through something h-horrible. Let's just go to my house and we can deal with everything el-else later, okay?"

The teenage girl nodded, resting her head on Bill's shoulder as the two began trekking back to where they both came from. She started to feel raindrops falling from the sky and onto her slightly pale skin, but she didn't notice and she just ignored it. Both of them were silent as they walked to Bill's house, the rain pouring down and soaking their clothes now, but they didn't care. Bill just had his arm around her to hold her to him as they put distance between themselves and the bridge.

Bill was thinking about how he had nearly lost his girlfriend forever. If he hadn't gotten there in time, Steph would have probably let go of the rail and fallen to her death, and he would've never seen her again. Even though he wasn't that religious, he was thanking the Lord that he had managed to save her; he didn't know what he would do with himself if he hadn't made it. But the love of his life was right here, in his arms, and perfectly safe. And that was all he wanted.

Meanwhile, Steph had her gaze frozen to the ground as the rain plastered her blonde hair to the sides of her face. She felt as if there was something eating her up from the inside, combined with that numbness and coldness, as if her conscience were telling her she wasn't good enough. The darkness in her soul haunted her, _scared_ her even; it was as if she knew it was going to remain there for a long time. But, despite the fact she really wanted to be with her mom again, she was very grateful that she had listened to Bill and let him pull her back over the rail. If she hadn't, she couldn't bear to think of the consequences.

The two finally arrived at Bill's house, and they were both shivering from the freezing rain splattering onto their skin. They walked up the front steps and Bill dug for his house key, getting it out of his pocket and unlocking the door. They stepped inside, immediately welcoming the warmth of the living room, and Steph pulled away from her boyfriend to hug herself, feeling the goosebumps on her arms.

"Wuh-We need to get showers," suggested Bill as he gave her a worried look. Steph didn't say anything, but she nodded, agreeing instantly. He took her left hand and they walked up the stairs and into his room; he let go briefly to go to his closet, digging through it for two pairs of clothes. He got one for himself, but he paused, turning to the girl that stood behind him.

"Is there anything in-in particular you want to wear?" he asked in a respectful tone. Steph, although she really appreciated his caring nature, shrugged.

"Anything's fine with me," she whispered, her voice distant and small as she looked away.

Bill nodded, getting a random shirt and pajama pants out of the closet and handing them to her. "You remember that we have t-t-two bathrooms here, right?" he inquired. At her nod, he continued. "You go to the one across the hall, and I-I'll go to the one downstairs, okay?"

Steph didn't nod, just saying, "Okay," in response before slowly walking out of the room and directly into the bathroom a few feet away. She turned on the light and shut the door behind her, leaning against it for a second; after a moment, she started to remove her soiled clothing and she tossed them to the side, putting the pair of clean clothes on the counter beside the sink. She then went to the shower and turned it on, immediately stepping inside and pulling the curtain over her.

The scalding hot water poured down, dripping down her skin as her mind faded into dullness and everything was a foggy illusion. The sensation of the water strangely calmed her; it took her mind off of things. Her mind swirled, and it felt like she was in an everlasting waterfall, but she knew it wouldn't last forever, and she hated that with a passion.

And that was when her thoughts snapped back to her mother. The fact that Steph had left the house without telling Jamie she loved her broke her entirely and it made her want to die inside. She didn't cry this time, but she could physically feel her heart slowly fall apart into nothing due to all the emotions that she sensed. She felt as if she were worthless, helpless… _nothing_.

She stood in the shower after cleansing herself for another ten minutes, just waiting for the water to turn cold. And when it did, she cut the shower off and stepped onto the floor, grabbing a towel in the process. She ran it over her body and hair, drying herself as much as she could before putting Bill's clothes on, appreciating the comfort they brought her.

Afterwards, the tears burst forth again, just like water spilling from a dam, and she clenched the sides of the sink for support, the sobs entering and leaving her lungs. Her chest heaved up and down and her body shook more than it ever had before; it was worse since she was temporarily alone and there was nobody with her. It made her bang her fists against the marble counter, the words, _I hate myself_, echoing in her brain over and over again. That one thought caused more tears to flow.

Steph sank to the floor and she never felt like she did at that moment, so _deflated_. Her sagged shoulders quivered, her hands hung low, and she made no attempt to conceal or wipe her tears away. Each drop from her eyes carved furrows in her tender flesh and the saltiness sank into the skin.

After a while, there was a knock on the bathroom door.

The girl refused to get up at first, reluctant to have comfort. But when the second knock occurred, she got up, finally relenting. She realized that _needed_ comfort right now, and she knew that Bill was the only one who could give that to her. She unlocked the door and opened it, facing her boyfriend.

Bill's heart fell at the sight of Steph crying; it seemed that she had been doing it for a while, and he didn't know about it, only just coming upstairs. He longed to have her in his arms, to hold her, to do what she had done when he lost Georgie. It seemed like it was forever ago now, although it had been nearly three years, and he was moving on. But he needed to comfort his girlfriend, his love, his angel. And he was going to… whatever it took.

"Oh, Steph…" he murmured, his own eyes shimmering with tears as he examined her broken face. He instantly stepped forward and hugged her, and she returned the embrace, although weakly. Seconds later, he kept his right arm around her back while he slipped the other under her legs; he lifted her off of the floor and carried her to his bedroom, while she held onto him as tightly as she could. When he entered the room, he kicked the door shut behind him and he sat down on the bed, holding Steph in his lap. He pushed a few strands of her blonde hair out of her face, kissing her on the forehead repeatedly and running his fingers through her hair.

Steph could barely breathe through her cries but the gentle pressure of Bill's fingers against her scalp soothed her. If he weren't so close to her like he was at that moment, she would've lost it. She used her arms that were slung around his neck and pulled herself closer to him, something that he welcomed instantly. As Bill held her, she kept thinking about what life would have been like if her mother was still in the world with her.

They could've had so much more time, Steph could have taken care of her mother more, everything could have been okay… but Jamie was taken away from her before that could be possible. She didn't just die… she was _taken away_ from Steph. And she hated that immensely, she had the slightest feeling of vengeance. But she knew that it wouldn't help anything.

She didn't care.

"It took her away from me…" she said quietly, furiously.

Bill pulled away from her slightly. "W-What?"

"_It took her away from me,_" she repeated, her teeth gritted with rage. Despite how angry she now was, the statement made Bill shake his head as he lifted her chin with his fingers.

"Listen to me, Steph," he began. "It _did not_ take your mother from you. Okay? It was just her time to go and sh-sh-she's at peace… Remember that…"

With the tears slowly stopping their waterworks, Steph blinked as she sniffed. "You're perfect," she muttered.

Bill's eyes widened slightly in surprise. He wasn't embarrassed, rather touched by the saying, but he still lowered his head for a moment. He then stared back into her eyes, shaking his head a little. "No, I'm not," he responded.

The teenage boy saw his girlfriend take a shaky breath as she continued what she was saying. "But you're here… with _me_…" she added, her voice breaking. "You don't have to be, but you are…" In response to this statement, Bill put a hand on her cheek to brush as many tears as he could away. "Yuh-You need me right now," he said simply. "And I'm here."

There was an agonizing silence as Steph looked away, staring into space. So many negative thoughts were rushing through her mind all at once, and she couldn't stop them, as much as she wanted to. And, before she could prevent herself from it, the words spilled from her mouth.

"It should have been me instead of her… I should have died instead of her… Mom was so… so _good_… She did so many great things, she was so strong… she was strong until the very end. But, she was so sick… and what did _I_ do? Just sit there and watch her die… Hurt her…"

Bill's eyes were wide as he heard the words she was saying; tears of pure sadness appeared in his eyes as his heart broke all over again. He wiped them away and shook his head again, this time, desperately. Steph ignored this, however, and spoke the words that could have literally killed him right there:

"I'm nothing…"

In fact, those words _did_ kill him a little on the inside.

And this made Bill let go of his girlfriend to put both of his hands on her face. He touched her skin, caressing her cheeks, chin, forehead, _everything_. He even brushed his fingers over her nose. "You're not nothing," he whispered. "You are _not_ nothing. You are the best person I could have ever found. Sure, everyone isn't perfect, but _you_ are to me."

He then leaned forward and pressed kisses to every single inch of Steph's face, making her close her eyes. And as he did, he kept speaking.

"You are the strongest, the most amazing, wonderful, and beautiful woman that I've ever seen or known. You are a freaking _angel_, and I will remind you of that every single day…"

After a while, he finally pulled away and saw Steph staring at him with a look of astonishment on her face. The girl couldn't believe how supportive he truly was for her. He hadn't stuttered at all, so she knew that he was telling the truth. So, she nodded and rested her forehead against his, doing nothing else but that.

"Bill?" she whispered.

"Steph…"

She took a deep but shaky breath. "Can you… promise me something please?"

He nodded. "If-If you ask me to promise you something, I always will…" he replied. "Wuh-What is it?"

This answer made Steph tighten her hold on Bill. "Never leave me. Please don't ever leave me…" she said. "I don't think I could handle it…"

Bill pulled her impossibly closer to him as he kissed her on the forehead again. "I will _never_ leave you, my angel… Do you hear me? I'm never going to leave you. I'm right here, and I always will be. I won't leave you in any way, _ever_."

Steph nodded. "I believe you," she said in a stronger voice. She then leaned forward and kissed Bill; she kissed him as if it were the end of the world, and he put a hand on her neck, ever more desperate to have her closer to him. He nearly cried when he tasted her salty tears, but he held it back.

The amount of love Bill showed for Steph was making her head spin as the tears finally stopped. They broke the kiss a little while later, the both of them breathing heavily after their moment of emotion being let out.

"I love you," Steph said in one breath. "I love you more than anything…" More tears filled her eyes as she said these words, although they didn't shed, but these were tears of gratitude. She was so relieved that her boyfriend was there for her in her moments of sorrow.

Bill leaned forward and brushed his lips against hers. "I love you, too, my angel," he murmured against her soft lips. "I'm a-always going to be here for you, don't worry…"

He then used his hand to tilt her chin back up and he gave her another gentle and loving kiss. He laid her down on the bed and he hovered over her, straddling her as she kept her arms around his neck. Their lips moved in sync and the passionate kiss lasted for a long time. They occasionally pulled away to breathe and when they did, Bill would press his lips against Steph's neck multiple times. But he couldn't resist kissing her lips again afterwards.

Bill would do anything to help the love of his life get through the tragedy she was going through. He was laying down his life to help his angel, and Steph appreciated it.

* * *

**A/N: Well... that was really depressing... probably even more so than it was in Chapter 7 of Losers Stick Together. *tries not to cry***

**So... what did you guys think of this one-shot? Was it too depressing? I need to know, please!**

**Next one-shot will come out whenever I can post it, so PLEASE wait patiently!**

_**Now, an incorrect quote to cheer you guys up!**_

**Steph: The glass is half empty.**

**Bill: I think the guh-glass is half full.**

**Steph: I think you're full of crap.**

**I hope you guys enjoyed this one-shot, even if you guys cried (I hope you didn't!). Be looking forward to the next one! Have a great day, and until next time!**

**\- Hermione Romanoff**


End file.
